Top five position battles to watch going into Steelers OTAs

The Steelers will begin voluntary OTAs on Tuesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. There's definitely some intriguing competition at several positions leading into next season, although none of them will be definitively set in stone until training camp takes place and the pads come on.

However, here are five different position battles to watch during OTAs.

1. Left Tackle: The Steelers signed former Denver tackle Ryan Harris in free-agency, giving a slight indication that they're not completely comfortable with committing to Alejandro Villanueva into next season.

2. Right Cornerback: Will it be veteran Ross Cockrell, or will incoming first-round draft pick Artie Burns impress enough before the regular season to take the starting job?

3. Safety: This will be a three-headed competition during training camp. Robert Golden, Shamarko Thomas and second-round rookie Sean Davis will battle it out for the starting safety spot alongside Mike Mitchell.

4. Kicker: Shaun Suisham could be on the outside looking in. The Steelers' kicker since 2011 missed all of the 2015 season after he tore his ACL in training camp. The Steelers signed Josh Scobee to replace him, which turned out a disaster and led them to 25-year old Chris Boswell. Boswell was signed in Week 5 and made 29 of 32 field goals, including 7 for 7 during two playoff games

5. Backup Quarterback: Landry Jones was drafted in 2013, but he didn't attempt a pass in an NFL regular season game until last season. He played in seven games last season in place for Ben Roethlisberger with mixed results. ... The Steelers signed Bruce Gradkowski in free-agency, and he will come in to battle with Jones for the second-string spot.

FULL STORY: http://www.timesonline.com/sports/steelers/a-look-at-the-top-five-position-battles-to-watch/article_e20c9ed0-1f7c-11e6-824d-a77b8bd6bc10.html

1. LT - It's Villanueva's job to lose. I doubt he will. He has the inside track knows the system and has almost a full year of play time under his belt.

2. R/CB Cockrell was a 3rd rounder let's not forget. He did a solid job coming in very late. He will have the inside track to keeping the spot minus a major implosion of skills during camp and a huge showing by either Gohlson or Burns. With a full camp and year behind him Cockrell will be hard to push out.

3 Safety This is the spot that is a bit of a toss up. Golden would seem to have the spot set up for him with the most experience and Tomlin seems to really like his play. Davis will have to really show some explosive plays and knowledge of the playbook and play calling to snake it from him. Thomas is in Tomlin's dog house and we all know it will be really hard for him to get out .

4. K It's Boswells job to lose. He is younger, not coming off an injury and cheaper. It's business.

5. Jones, or Gradkowski don't really matter. Grad seems like a better option but he is getting up there in age and coming off shoulder surgery... Wish they would have went after Hoyer more.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

1. LT - It's Villanueva's job to lose. I doubt he will. He has the inside track knows the system and has almost a full year of play time under his belt.

2. R/CB Cockrell was a 3rd rounder let's not forget. He did a solid job coming in very late. He will have the inside track to keeping the spot minus a major implosion of skills during camp and a huge showing by either Gohlson or Burns. With a full camp and year behind him Cockrell will be hard to push out.

3 Safety This is the spot that is a bit of a toss up. Golden would seem to have the spot set up for him with the most experience and Tomlin seems to really like his play. Davis will have to really show some explosive plays and knowledge of the playbook and play calling to snake it from him. Thomas is in Tomlin's dog house and we all know it will be really hard for him to get out .

4. K It's Boswells job to lose. He is younger, not coming off an injury and cheaper. It's business.

5. Jones, or Gradkowski don't really matter. Grad seems like a better option but he is getting up there in age and coming off shoulder surgery... Wish they would have went after Hoyer more.

I agree with most of your assessment. I do think that Villaneuva will give way to Harris at some point though...his technique is really still sloppy and gives some plays up that he shouldn't.

Safety, I think Davis might earn the start by week 6. They will like to put Davis in dime packages and think he will supplant Golden by then. His speed, range, size is just better and he will hit anybody. Just needs to get up to NFL speed. Watch the first series of the Senior Bowl and you see him come up and make some tackles. Fun to watch.

Wheaton and Coates for the #2 receiver seems to be more of a toss up than Suisham/Boswell - as posted above, Boswell is younger and cheaper while having performed just as well after Scobee was banished

Of course the Steelers play with a three WR set so often both WRs will see plenty of playing time regardless of who is the "starter"

Atlanta Dan wrote:

Wheaton and Coates for the #2 receiver seems to be more of a toss up than Suisham/Boswell - as posted above, Boswell is younger and cheaper while having performed just as well after Scobee was banished

Of course the Steelers play with a three WR set so often both WRs will see plenty of playing time regardless of who is the "starter"

I don't think so. I think Coates will have enough of a battle trying to be the #3 WR over DHB. Wheaton is clearly the 2nd best WR on the roster, but they might want him to work out of the slot and either DHB or Coates on the outside.

I don't see much of a difference between DHB and Coates. Both are fast tall WRs that have drop issues occasionally. I think the guy who shows better hands at camp and in the preseason games will get the nod. DHB has a slight edge because he knows both the slot and outside positions. If Coates can show he knows the routes in both spots and runs them crisp you have a battle. It's the one area we are deep at and have some real quality players a nice position to be in.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

I don't see much of a difference between DHB and Coates. Both are fast tall WRs that have drop issues occasionally. I think the guy who shows better hands at camp and in the preseason games will get the nod. DHB has a slight edge because he knows both the slot and outside positions. If Coates can show he knows the routes in both spots and runs them crisp you have a battle. It's the one area we are deep at and have some real quality players a nice position to be in.

I don't see much similarity between Coates and DHB. DHB was just a straight out fast player with questionable hands. What I think you get with DHB is a guy who will make the easy catch, with some drops, but will almost never make the difficult catch (one-handers, diving, leaping, etc).

Coates is the far better athlete. He doesn't have DHB speed, but moves far better. In college, his drops seemed to come off of the routine catch ... it was the easy catch he dropped. But he has the ability to make very difficult catches. For him, it's a matter of keeping focus on the ball through the entire catch process. But unlike DHB, who has several drops in his pro career, we can't say Coates has a drop problem. He hasn't dropped a pass in a Steelers uniform yet, so we should give him the opportunity to show what he's going to do in the NFL.

I wouldn't be shocked if DHB were the #3 receiver because Ben seems to have a certain faith in him. But I think Coates has far more potential to make game changing plays and should likely be the #3 receiver.

Yeah, DHB is just a veteran speed guy with iffy hands that has lost a step. Coates is a big body, physical kid with 4.43 speed, 41" vertical, who doesn't catch the ball naturally. Coates will break tackles and use his body to shield defenders, where DHB doesn't have that physical presence.

Coates is the much better athlete with upside, but has he learned enough to elevate to the #3 job? DHB is just a #5 WR that might be the #3 due to Bryant suspension and Coates lack of experience. Wheaton is in for a payday in the offseason when he becomes a free agent and its not likely the Steelers are paying.